Drier for clay or ceramic products



M. Jus-TICE. DRIER FOR CLAY 0R CERAMIC PRODUCTS.

APPLICATION FILED IIIAYVV 3 19419.

Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

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I. M..IUSTICE. DRIER FOR CLAYl 0B CERAMIC PRODUCTS.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, |919. 11,360,645.

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l. M. JUSTICE.

DRIER FOR CLAY 0R CERAMIC PRODUCTS.

APPLlcATloN FILED MAY 3. 1919,

' Patented NOV. 30, 1920.

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-DRIER FOR CLAY 0R CERAMIC PRODUCTS.

I I APPLICATION FILED IIAY 3, I9I9. I 1 ,360,645. Patented Nov. 30, 1920.

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UNITED STATES -4 PATENT oFFlcE.

ITHAMAR M. JUSTICE, OF'DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR-VTO THE MANUFACTURERS i EQUIPMENT COMPANY, OF DAYTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO. i

intimi. roRcLAY on CERAMIC PRODUCTS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented No l30, 1920.

Application led May 3, 1919. Serial No. 294,498.

To all/whom tf/nay concern: i

Be it known that I, ITHAMAR M. JUSTICE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dayton, in the county of Montgomery and State of Ohio, have invented certain'new and useful Improvements in Driers for Clay or Ceramic Products, of whichir the follow ing is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to driers for clay or ceramic products and has for itsy particular object to provide an improved drier. of the direct action type and, more especially, to provide an improved construction .andarrangement of radiated heat driers in The essential advantage of this method.l

of drying is obtained from the physical fact that the same, Weight of air can carry 'an increasing amount of moisture as its temperature is increased. It is a well known physical law that at 42 F. one pound of air will carry .089 oz. of moisture; at 82f, .38 oz.; at 132, 1.88 oz.; and at 182,

From this known natural law it follows that if the air in a drier operated on this principle leaves the drying tunnel at 162, lthe weight necessary to carry one pound of water, if it is saturated, is only 3.1 pounds or 485` cubic feet, as compared with 50% pounds or 689 cubic feet required in a drier operated on the inverse system and workingA between 82 and 170. The carrying power of air increases so rapidly with the rise in temperature that in practice in the construction and operation of driers of this type it is not usual to make the air issue saturated at the hot endvof the tunnels. lIf this were done, the drying would be extremely slow at the'beginning and very rapid at the end- 'of the operation.

plied.

As applied in the present invention, a most effective method of drying'is obtained. There is a combination of powerful kheating and radiating influences, which, to-

gether with the principle of direction action, produces highly satisfactory results. The moisture carrying power of the air increases so rapidly with the increase in temperature that there is no danger of condensation on the ware and the drying time is shortened andl fuel requirements. reduced yery materia y. v

4With driersof my improved construction most clays, including the more delicate or tender grades, may be dried in the comparatively short time of thirty hours. During the greater part of the operation the air is so charged with moisture as to be nearly saturated. Strong air currents and excessive surface drying are therefore avoided, and many clays which inevitably crack when dried in other ways may be successfullyv treated by my improved construction and process of treatment.

In the general construction, including the arrangement of the fuel pits and tunnels and the drying tunnels, my' improved drier is similar to my improved drier ofthe inverse type, which is well known on the market, being used extensively in the manufacture of various kinds of' ceramic prod-4 ucts,but differs from my earlier constructions vfundamentally in that the air for carrying offthe moisture passes through the drier tunnels in the same direction the product is moving, as distinguished from the old construction in which the movement is `inverse. l

Driers-of this type are usually of large capacity made up of a plurality of fuel and drier tunnel units, all constructed and operated in the same way and all served by a common stack. Only one 4such unit is here shown to illustrate a construction in which my invention has been applied, it being understood that the construction of the different unitsthat make up the drier vas a whole is essentially the same.

lAs shown in the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view ,of-the direct radiated heat type drier in which the present invention has been ap- Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 242 of Fig. 1, and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, having the upper portion of the stack broken awav.

Fig. 4 is .ya plan view in cross sectionof the receiving end of the drier taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detailed plan View 4taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detailed view in elevation of the upper portion of one of the heat iiues.

It will be observed that the fuel tunnels 1 and drier tunnels 2 extend longitudinally the entire length of the structure, the first section, of the fuel tunnels consisting, as

here shown, of the usual fuel pit 3, fire boxv 4, bag wall 5, and baffle wall-6. This part of the construction may be of any suitable type, the arrangement here shown being for illustration purposes only.

The opposite end of the tunnel 1 leads into a transverse tunnel 7, which is divided into sections by cross walls S. The roofs of the tunnels are formed bythe metal arches 9 and the different units are spaced apart by longitudinal base walls 10, the upper portion of the walls 11 extending above-the arches 9 to the ceiling wall 12, and beyond the ceiling wall to the roof 13 and serving to separate the different units of the structure. As seen in Fig. 5, the walls 11 are ogged to oneside when they reach a point above the ceiling of the drying chambers. This jog is formed I in'order not to close the upper ends of the stack through an offset extension 25 thereof.

flues 14 and yet to permit of the continuation of the walls 11 on up to the roof to support it.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 4 of the drawings, each of the sectional tunnels I7 is provided with a flue 14 which extends upwardly through the wall 11 and opens into the draft channels 15 leading to the stack 16.

The air for carrying off the moisture from the product treated in the drying tunnels is introduced through an air pit 17, immediately adjacent the receiving ends of the tun-- nels, thence through an aperture 18 in the end wall of the structure and an air duct 19 direct into the drying tunnels. The opening -to the air pit is normally covered or closed by a suitable grate or trap 'door 20, and the entrance to the drying tunnels is normall closed by a suitable metal door 21. At the delivering end of the drying tunnels the .ceiling walls are lprovided with draft apertures 22 opening into air channels 23 leading directly into stack 16, a wall 24 serving to separate the air channels from the flue channels 15, the latterleading intov the' A track 26 is laid on the floor of the drier tunnels inu any suitable manner, and extends outwardly beyond the receiving entrance andalso beyond, the delivering end of the tunnels, kas shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings. The ware is moved through the tunnels on suitable` trucks supported upon track 26, the loaded trucks being advanced step by step as the drying operation progresses.

From the foregoing detailed description. the construction and operation of my improved driers will be readily understood. While the principle of introducing the air through the drying tunnels in the same direction ware is moved through them, is not newL per se as applied in the present' construction, the improved construction is nevertheless essentially different from what has been the practice heretofore, and'decided improvemen'ts are obtained in the results of operation inthe quality of the ware produced and in the economy andgeneral facility of production.

It will be understood from the illustrai tions of the drawings and the foregoing description that the drying tunnels are heated throughout their length by the fuel tunnels underneath, the drying space at the delivery ends of the tunnels, which are immediately above the furnaces, being, of course, much hotter than at the receiving ends of the tunnels.

It will also be observed that the hot air passing upwardly from the fuel tunnels into nels may, of course, be varied to suit the ware receiving treatment. In practice, the air is introduced to the tunnels at normal atmospheric temperature and gradually increases in temperature as it moves toward the. hot end of the tunnels where a temperature of j about 200 F. is Iusually maintained in treatino' the usual grades of clay.

t will beunderstood that the `air as it passes through the tunnels may at all temperatures be saturated, or nearly saturated, and that its moisture carrying capacity will be constantly increased w1th the increase in temperature, and that the drying operation becomes increasingly faster toward the hot end of the tunnels.

The gainY in'etliciency of my improved 'direct action drier, as here shown, as compared to driersfof the ordinary inverse type, en-

ters decisively into the economy in production of` clay products. The saving eHected in the time required for the completion of the drying operation, over the old method of drying,'is very material; reduction in fuel required may be conservatively estimated at 20 to 25%; and the substantial loss of nished from air drafts or sudden changes in drying temperatures, under the old practice is practically eliminated in the new construction and operation.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels, a stack located intermediate the ends of said tunnels, channels leading from the fuel tunnels and the drying tunnels, respectively, to said stack, and means to introduce air to the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof, whereby the temperature of said air will be gradually increased as itipasses through the tunnels.

2. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having re- .ceiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels from the delivering to the receiving ends thereof, a stack communicating with said tunnels, channels extending in opposite directions from the fuel tunnels and the drying tunnels, respectively, to said stack, and means to introduce air at atmospheric temperature to the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof, whereby the temperature .of said air will be gradually increased as it passes through the tunnels.

3. In a drier for ceramic products, the combination, with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels, a stack connected to the fuel tunnels, channels communicating with the stack and .with the drying tunnels, and air inlets for the receiving ends of the drylng tunnels,

whereby air introduced into the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof will be gradually increased in temperature as it passes through the drying tunnels.

4. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels from the delivering toy the receiving ends thereof cross tunnels communicating with the fuel tunnels,and a stack and oppositely roduct due to cracking, resultingv the (receiving ends thereof will be gradually 4increased in temperature as it passes therethrough.

5. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnelshaving receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels from the delivering to the receiving ends thereof, cross tunnels having flues, a stack and channels communicating with the drying tunnels and the lflues of the cross tunnels, whereby air introduced into the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof will be gradually increased in temperature as it passes therethrough.l

6. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath thevdrying tunnels, a stack and opposite channels leading thereto respectively from the fuel and drying tunnels, whereby air introduced into the ing with said stack and the fuel and drying tunnels, respectively, whereby the temperature of said air will be gradually increased as it passes through the tunnels.

8. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels, a stack located intermediate the ends of said tunnels and channels communicating with said stack and the fuel and drying tunnels, respectively, and extending over the drying tunnels, whereby the temperature of sald air will be gradually increased as it passes through the tunnels. l

9. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel l tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels, a stack located intermediate the ends of said tunnels and channels communicating drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof will begradually increased in temperature as it passes therethrough.

10. In a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for moving the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels longitudinally therewith, sectional cross tunnels divided by cross Walls, and communicating with the fuel tunnels, and a stack communicating with the drying tunnels and said cross tunnels, whereby air introduced into the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof will be gradually increased in temperature as it passes therethrou h.

l1. n a drier for ceramic products the combination with drying tunnels having receiving and delivering ends, means for mov ing the product through said tunnels, fuel tunnels extending beneath the drying tunnels longitudinally therevvith, sectional cross tunnels divided by cross walls, and communicating with the fuel tunnels, and air pits and air passages leading therefrom into the receiving ends of the drying tunnels, whereby air at atmospheric 4temperature may be introduced thereto, a stack communicating with the drying tunnels and said cross tunnels, whereby air introduced into the drying tunnels at the receiving ends thereof will be gradually increased in temperature as it passes therethrough.

In testimony whereof I aliix my signature.

ITHAMAR M. JUSTICE. 

